On Not Knowing Russian, Part 2

Walking on the third floor of the JFSB last week I passed a professor's office which appeared to have this name on the plaque:

Russia v. Slovenia

I thought that was a fitting match-up although I think Russia would certainly win. Was this a political statement being made? a statement of patriotism?

Actually, upon closer look I realized that the office belonged to one Raissa V. Solovieva.

On Not Knowing Russian

While ambling to my Physical Science class today (so cool) I stepped into the Clyde Building and walked passed a hurried young man talking on his cell:

"Yeah I've got shlovnik and salzkov. Yeah"

Because I was stomach-eating-itself hungry at the time I imagined that this gentleman had not one but two different varieties of Russian sausage which he was taking to an undisclosed location that he would soon disclose to me via text message.

But then I realized that there's the unfortunate chance that he was telling his mother that he has developed two painful and odious skin afflictions, contracted during his studies of Russian housepets.

Or perhaps the words should be capitalized and italicized to become his favorite two albums from the year's premier Ukranian emo group (whatever that might be).

At any rate, I'm glad I don't know Russian. It would simply ruin the fun of going to BYU, of walking to Physical Science class, of a day otherwise spent in a bit of a haze. Imagine if I actually knew for certain that this young man was explaining to a friend that he has "classified information"(shlovnik) and "wherewithal"(salzkov). Then what would I do?

The Call

I have found my calling in life:


http://completeall.com/Art-and-Design/Watermelon-Carving.html

In other news: One of my recent goals has been to learn how to cook good food on a shoestring budget. Let me tell you, it's not that easy. There's kind of a spectrum things run on: either the food is expensive and tasty, or inexpensive and not tasty. That being said, there have been a few good developments:

One was our recent dumpling party. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately, but can tell you that we all had a pretty good time. I think the total budget was about 10 dollars which went towards making probably 60-70 dumplings. It was enough to feed eight people pretty well. Here's the recipe:

The Shopping List

Note: Items bought in large quantities, l have been pro-rated for cost. Ingredients a cook can reasonably be expected to have on hand are considered "Pantry Items" and are not factored into recipe cost. I want to suggest shopping for these things at Chao's in Provo in part because Mr. and Mrs. Chao are my heroes, and things will be much cheaper than large chain stores.

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
1 package "Shanghai-style" dumpling wrappers - $2.25
1/2 pound ground pork - $1.24
Small head Napa cabbage - $1.70
4 scallions - $0.75
Bunch cilantro - $0.75
Small knob ginger - $0.15

Procedure

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Blanch cabbage until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water. Drain, squeeze out excess water, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl containing cabbage. Knead by hand until thoroughly combined.

Dumpling wrappers can be purchased at Asian grocery stores or in the freezer section of many supermarkets. I like the thicker, "Shanghai-style" wrappers, which are less fragile to work with and far more filling.

First, prepare a small bowl of cold water. Pile two teaspoons of filling in the center of the dumpling wrapper. Using your fingertip, moisten the outer edge of the wrapper with water. Fold wrapper in half, forming a half-moon, and pleat the edges, pressing firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining dumplings.

To Cook

Working in batches, carefully lower dumplings into a medium pot of boiling water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. They are done when the skins are translucent and the dumplings have been boiling for at least 3 minutes.

Another good success in terms of cooking has been my latest venture into macaroni and cheese. It's kind of comfort food for me and gets high marks, especially since this is not the Kraft junk that I've wasted so much time eating. Here's a recipe for real (and real good) mac 'n cheese:

Ingredients

• 6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano
• 1 pound elbow macaroni

Method

• 1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• 2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
• 3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.
• 4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
• 5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

I eliminated the Gruyere in part because it cost like ten bucks (!) and the stuff still turned out great. White cheddar is a little bit pricey (I think I paid 4.99 for 8 oz) but well worth the cost. I cut the recipe in half and had at least four lunches out of the stuff. By the way, the recipe is from Martha Stewart, who if you don't know is out of jail and back...with a vengeance.

What a First Letterbox Looks Like

Today Catharine and I reached a new level in our relationship. Letterboxing! Seriously, this is a great activity--one which I originally doubted and am now converted to. It's fun, easy, and for the most part air-conditioned, which on a day as hot as today was (high 90s) has to count for something. I want to give a big shout-out to Skoticus and Tom Hansen for inspiring the day's activities thanks to their positive reviews of letterboxing. For those of you not familiar, here's the shakedown on what you do.

Step 1: Find a letterbox in your area so as to save gasoline. There was one right in Wrightstown! Connor helps. Here's the dialogue of the process:

Step 2: Solve the clue to what you're looking for. Here's what we were given:

Eight Sided School House

[14][17][22][12]//[28][16][13]//[13][17][15][16][28]//

[27][17][12][13][12]//[27][11][16][23][23][20]//

[16][23][29][27][13]//[17][22]//

[31][26][17][15][16][28][27][23][31][22]//[24][9].//

[14][26][23][21]//[28][16][13]//[12][23][23][26]//

[14][17][22][12]//[28][16][13]//

[10][26][17][12][15][13].//

[28][16][13]//[10][23][32]//[17][27]//

[9][11][26][23][27][27]//[28][16][13]//

[10][26][17][12][15][13]//[29][22][12][13][26]//

[28][16][13]//[26][17][15][16][28]//[27][17][12][13].

Not getting it? Here's the solution we came up with after some clever deduction:

Find the eight

sided school

house in

Wrightstown PA.


From the door


find the


bridge.


The box is


across the


bridge under


the right side.




We really wanted it to be a poem with rhyme and meter (a limmerick perhaps?) but we settled for vague directions!


Step 3: Make your stamp. Being resourceful, Cat and I decided to carve ours out of a rubber eraser. Catharine designing, me approving:



We decided on a C and A design, using ASL.

Catharine applies ink for the stamp's maiden voyage:

Even without the photographic proof, I can tell you it was a successful print.

Step 4: Find your letterbox. On the way over to the eight-sided schoolhouse (which, by the way, was pretty cool) I began to get very nervous that the box would not be where the internet told us it would. I doubted--visions of maurading deer stealing boxes, hobos making off with rubber stamps to sell on the rubber stamp blackmarket floated through my mind. Catharine did her best to assuage me.


Oh letterboxing! You came through in the clutch! The box was just where it was supposed to be.

Inside we found the tiny log of stamps as well as their own rubber stamp for our book.

Step 5: Use your homeade stamp to leave a record in the log of your visit. Be sure to write your names.

Step 6: Use the box's stamp in your book. This is getting kind of hard to describe--not doing the greatest job here--but let's just say they had a cool stamp that looked like an eight-sided schoolhouse, I inked it up, and stamped it on some paper we brought with us.

Three cheers for letterboxing! Seriously, if you haven't tried this it's a good one. It would make for a great family home evening activity, date, Eagle Scout project, Master's thesis, weekend getaway. Go to it.

What a Game Night Looks Like

Friday night=good times. The Lee family invited a bunch of people over for some games, some food, some convivial association. We're young, right? We get to do these types of things. Here's what went down:

The family Hansen emerges prepared to wage the good fight!

And by "fight" I mean eat "mexican-inspired" food at Taco Bell. Here, Tom looks on as Rachel's head explodes from trying his drink. The accidental touch of root beer made it taste like bubblegum.

Meanwhile, at the Lees, Rob was preparing for some serious Cranium action. The teams: Sofa vs. non-sofa. In other words: Catharine, myself, Rachel in the couch corner versus the tag-team combo of Brother and Sister Lee, Rob and Tom.

Some sort of Japanese dexterity test which prepares the mind to spell backwards and draw with your eyes closed.

In the end, the non-couch team would win. But that's really not the important part, is it? The important part is that Tom Hansen learned how to do a low five:

Actually, other exciting things happened including another game of Cranium. Sadly, my camera had run out of gas. Speaking of gas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ktdkw8z5s

What I look like Monday-Wednesday 9:00 to 3:00

What a Trip Down the Shore Looks Like

Sometimes people like to get all covered in sand and salt. When this urge arises, a trip "down the shore" is usually in short-order. Today was one of those days. As a result, a few good friends and myself made the trip across the Garden State to what I would consider a quaint little village on the sea. In fact, it's called Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey. Here's what we did when we got there:

Alex gave the universal sign for "I love UV rays!"



Catharine and Rob looked both natural yet wind-swept down along the water line. What do you think they're contemplating?

Take 1.

That's better.



At one point in the day a mad game of "Keep the Volleyball in the Air" broke out. Basically, it was a quest to keep the ball in the air 30 bumps. We did it! Action shots are kind of my new thing, so I'm pretty proud of these.

Either pre or post ball visitation.

I'm going to call this the shot of the day. What is she looking at?
These guys are my paddle ball heroes. They hit that little ball back and forth to each other 199 times while their children counted. Seriously, they were so amazing.

Rob Lee came! Rob would later win the award for "He who has gotten the most sun". Congrats, Rob.

Catharine and Camille did the best job of soaking up the rays though. Camille even did some sand angels.

Then this happened.

Alex invited everyone to cover him with wet sand, citing some king of theraputic result. We were more than happy to oblige. However, I do not look very happy do I?






These are a few of the activities people like to do when they are down the Shore. I tried taking pictures (action shots) of people diving through the rough surf, but didn't have much luck. They just looked like little dots diving through the surf. The waves were pretty rough thanks to tropical storm Bertha and there was a pretty good undertow. All in all, a seriously great day. Good thing there's a shore to go to round these parts.